I listened to this kind of stuff all the time in my late teens/early 20's (my death-rock phase when I bleached my skin whiter than paper, and wore all black including a black trenchcoat for a few years)

I remember on the TBV disscussion, someone said something about how not everyone is meant to become enlightened in this life.

Quinn responded by saying: "how do you know there is anything besides this life?"

The reality of there being 'only this life' is such a terrifiying and depressing prospect for I think most people - ones shoddy, irrational, mean-spirited and clumsly life really is just that, and nothing more.

Some of you may roll your eyes at the following song and video, yeah a bit melodramatic and sentimental maybe, but I found it delievered a bit of catharsis for me when I first seen and heard it.

Some songs help people cope with what is essentially socially unacceptable matter - in this songs case, it seems to center around the phenomenon of realizing ones own worthlessness while facing the prospect of death. Pretty hard pill to swallow.

John Frusciante was probably my first true idol. I beheld him like a modern day religious figure, and although I'm not so impressed with his behavior these days, for that brief period in time when he rejoined the chili-peppers to record Californication, he had a strange sort of energy hapening, he was such an inspiration to me, and the work he did up until then (and even some of his latest stuff) I think serves as a good example of how an artist can awaken the religious/spiritual impulse, providing a necceary support for an anxious soul to break away from convention, experiment and explore. But that's just my subjective interpretation.

Some songs help people cope with what is essentially socially unacceptable matter - in this songs case, it seems to center around the phenomenon of realizing ones own worthlessness while facing the prospect of death. Pretty hard pill to swallow.

This video is quite powerful indeed, but I agree Cash was a tad emotional, but it is quite understandable. I think Iâ€™d be emotional too if I suddenly had a burst of insight at the end of my life perceiving the truth of what my life actually was.

It seems one of Johnny Cashâ€™s biggest problems was how attached he was to Christian ideology â€“ Jesus in particular. Not to mention his struggle with substance abuse and woman.

But a powerful song nevertheless.

When I first heard the song, it reminded me of this poem I read in grade eight. Although Cash's empire is quite different to Ozymandias, but there is a similar message.

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:â€”Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

John Frusciante was probably my first true idol. I beheld him like a modern day religious figure, and although I'm not so impressed with his behavior these days, for that brief period in time when he rejoined the chili-peppers to record Californication, he had a strange sort of energy hapening, he was such an inspiration to me, and the work he did up until then (and even some of his latest stuff) I think serves as a good example of how an artist can awaken the religious/spiritual impulse, providing a necceary support for an anxious soul to break away from convention, experiment and explore. But that's just my subjective interpretation.

I agree...I think Californication without him would've been shit.

But now they have released Stadium Arcadium...which in my opinion is boring and rehashed.

I read some interviews with the RHCP during the Californication time and it talked about Frusciante having spiritual experiences...I wonder if you can recall anything about it? I tried looking it up a few months ago and couldn't find any info on it.

But now they have released Stadium Arcadium...which in my opinion is boring and rehashed.

Yeah, Stadium Arcadium, and 'by the way', (although there are bright moments on each album) I found way too sugary and just too pop.

Califorinication was good because the band members at that time were very weak and vulnerable, and the music came out from a more primordial and raw place. (that goes for John's solo stuff as well)

But ever since 'by the way' the music has been just way to polished and mulled over - and yeah, rehashed I think.

Their music is too happy now or something. They are too much 'at peace' with their careers and values.

What made john's early solo stuff so great was the quality of self-hatred he had, and he had such a nihilistic propensity for going beyond the ego. And then when he was in the proccess of recovering from his nihilistic spiritual/drug experimentation, he was also making great music because he just wasnt super comfortable and at peace.

Now he's become too comfortable in his values. And he's big on femininity. That's why the chili's are getting worse, they all value femininty and thus their music is getting softer and softer.

But all of John's recent solo stuff is still pretty good. Just not as good as I would have liked. I guessed I'm just outgrowing music.

Scott: I read some interviews with the RHCP during the Californication time and it talked about Frusciante having spiritual experiences...I wonder if you can recall anything about it? I tried looking it up a few months ago and couldn't find any info on it.

I only know that after he quit the band at the height of their career shortly following the success of blood sugar sex magic, he holed himself up in his house, living the life of recluse for a couple of years in an attempt to educate himself.

During that time he was absorbing books by and about davinci, Timothy leary, Aleister Crowely. He was doing alot of drugs and reading alot of esoteric spiritual stuff, and he claimed to experience visitations from intelligences from other dimensions and ghosts.

Johhny Depp made a short film, with the premise basically being a tour through john's house. Timothy Leary can be seen sitting in a char at the end of the film. God knows the story of how Tim Leary ended up in John's house. John's in the video too, and he of course provides the soundtrack. Crazy music.

There's lots of interviews with john on youtube, maybe some contain the info you are looking for.

I think what john considers spiritual is undergoing oblivion, becoming schitzophrenic and depressed, and then coming back and recovering with persectives and ideas that he puts into the lyrics of his songs. Probably not too close to what some people on this forum consider spiritual.

But then again, he is big into yoga as a means to purify himself, which is a bit closer.

I think what is considered spiritual on this board is being healthy, and from there, developing an intellect that increasingly looks down upon humanity at ever increasing heights, with ever increasing flexibility in intellect, with ever-increasing detatchment from emotion and feeling.

John just wants to feel good emotions by making other people feel good emotions with his music.

I watched a few interviews as well as Depp's short documentary. That house looks like my apartment sometimes haha...just kidding. Not that messy, with writings on the wall. It definitely looked like my good friend's room when he lived in his parent's house, before getting a girlfriend. He has the same type of personality as John, and has talked about getting visions....the same type of spirituality I consider to be somewhat psychotic and not real.

I don't think that type of personality brings progress towards enlightenment of course...but it is interesting to listen to people like John. He talks in some of his interviews about hearing ghosts talking while listening to Blood Sugar Sex Magick. And that he makes music so that spirits can derive enjoyment.

I just bought "To Record Only Water For Ten Days" by Frusciante. Such deep music.

Yes, that album is quite deep as far as singer-songwriter songs go. The deepest I've ever been in contact with.

I've probably listened to that album probably close to a thousand times in the span of 4 years, usually while driving or sitting in my car, sometimes with a friend - which would usually set the mood for philosophizing and wondering.

Actually come to think of it, I lost my girlfriend because of that album! She hated it, while I intuitively felt that it was so special and significant that I pretty much prioritized my life around listening to frusciante music, playing guitar, and painting and so I kind of stopped paying as much attention to her.

she broke it off with me eventually, seeing that I wasnt going back to my old ways of social climbing, being trendy, watching NBA basketball with her, getting drunk on the weekends and going crazy to guns & roses. I did a complete 180 on her. My personality changed quite a bit, and she said bye-bye. And at the time, I didnt care a bit. I thought I had the key to something very special that most people were too spiritually unevolved to understand.

I havent come across any singer songwriter type songs that really come close to the depth of the lyrics and vibe of that TROWFTD album, along with alot of other songs by John.

I will always remember that period of my life when I was heavily into John's personality and message as kind of like a strange sunset, in the sense that, it was a beautiful time, yet I was on the verge of great darkness. John seems to consciously want to make his listeners become aquainted and comfortable with death.

I had no idea how deep the lyrics from TROWFTD actually were when I first started listening to that album. It took me about a years worth of listening combined with alot of reading, and some realy intense shroom and LSD trips before I one day just suddenly realized what the whole album was saying. (or at least I thought and still think I do - -these days however I can actually criticize the lyrics a bit, I know what he means, and I just dont agree with 'some' of what he says anymore. but still, what he's created is a comendable achievement given his temperment and environmental conditions)

After listening to the album long enough, combined with experimenting, painting, and reading - The lyric from 'away & anywhere' came to mean alot to me. I was shocked by the profound and simple intelligence of the album, and also how directly the lyrics spoke to the listener, I mean, john's not big on telling a story, he wants to communicate very directly.

"I didn't mean for you - to fathom what you bought'

It was a simple lyric, and it perhaps doesnt do it much justice to quote it here by itself without contrasting it to the rest of the albums content, but you might understand.

What it meant to me was: "I didnt mean for you to understand what it was that I was getting you into".

It's like kierkguaard when he said: "in order to save men, you must be able to seduce them"

Frusciante's music seduced and pulled me along until I reached a point where I seen how harrowing and vast the truth is, I came in contact with death (too close for comfort) but by the time I realized what he had helped get me into, I couldnt go back.

Kind of like the QRS does to some people I'm sure! ;)

After listening to John's stuff for long enough (I did alot of other things too, but they always had some sort of resonance with john, sometimes it was very indirect -- I was very into 'terrence mckenna' for instance) I became genuinely very unhappy and involuntarily isolated for the first time in my life, and it was then that the album really started to make sense. And it was also then that I started philosophizing more maturely - started reading more mature stuff - J.Krishnamurti for instance, and then eventualy I ended up here.

'sounds from the inside' was recorded shortly before Californication, while TROWFTD was recorded after.

'Shadows collide with people' was recorded around the same time as 'by the way', and demo's from SCWP are available for download.

The official SCWP album is very, very high quality production and recording, but I find the feeling of the album too warm and fuzzy -- but its still pretty great.

After SCWP, John released 6 more albums within the span of 6 months. Some of the albums only have about 4 tracks, while other are 10+ track albums.

They're of course decent, but TROWFD & 'sounds from the inside' both have much more replay value in my opinion. Those album don't get old easily, at least not for me, I dont know what it is. I think its because they have more of a stark feel to them.

Stuff like SCWP is just too much positive sensation, but still kind of great.